October 20, 2008 Issue

Cover art by: Cover design by Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels

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Feature

Voting the Fate of the Nation

This can be a transformative election. Will economic meltdown, race or regional loyalty be the trump card?
Chalmers Johnson
Wanted: Political Poetry

Are you worried about the election? Do you write haiku? People for the American Way and The Nation invite your entries the McPalin Haiku Hysteria competition.
Erica Landau
Lee Atwater’s Legacy

Rebel. Liar. Attack dog. Bigot. Stefan Forbes’s Boogie Man assesses the enduring damage Lee Atwater did to our political process.
Antonino D’Ambrosio
Toxic Loans, Tainted Food

As financial markets reel from the US financial crisis and tainted Chinese dairy products are sold around the world, we’re learning hard lessons on the limits of globalization.
David E. Gumpert
Net Backlash Hinders Bailout

With a surge of angry e-mail that sent Congressional servers into meltdown, taxpayers stormed their way into the bailout debate.
Ari Melber
China’s Quest for Moral Authority

China is booming, but slouches toward the moral authority needed to inspire a modern, open and prosperous state. Does Confucius hold the key?
Orville Schell
Justice, Bush-Style

GOP loyalists have taken over the Justice Department and retooled the civil rights division as a political weapon.
Andrew Gumbel
McCain’s Kremlin Ties

He may talk tough about Russia, but John McCain’s political advisers have advanced Putin’s imperial ambitions.
Mark Ames and Ari Berman

Editorial

Undecided Progressives: Make the Difference for Obama

Thinking of casting a symbolic vote for Nader or some other third-party progressive? Think again.
Tom Hayden
Bearing Witness: The Afghan Tragedy

Seven years after the US invasion, Afghanistan is still chained to the fundamentalist warlords and the Taliban. Women and children suffer the most.
Malalai Joya
Our Healthcare System Is Dying

If only the federal government could be mobilized to solve the nation’s healthcare crisis as quickly as it did for Wall Street.
RoseAnn DeMoro
The Palin Fix

There’s only one explanation for the pundits who declared Sarah Palin finessed Thursday’s debate: A nation of losers sorely needed a redemption narrative.
Mark Ames
Sarah Palin, Mean Girl

Remember The Rules, that mean-girl guide to being the object of male desire? That’s Sarah Palin. Not that it will do the GOP much good.
Linda Hirshman
Paul Newman

He was funny, he was thoughtful, he was committed and, in the end, he was a friend, period.
Victor Navasky
Looking Backward

As America’s second Gilded Age fissions around us, we can sense the zeitgeist shift. Are we staring into the abyss of 1929 or heading for a new New Deal?
Steve Fraser
Democracy Inaction

Nothing brings left and right together like a Big Government intervention on behalf of Big Money.
Chris Hayes
Noted.

D.D. Guttenplan on British politics, Nancy Kranich on Banned Books Week
The Editors
Born-Again Democracy

Congress must take control of the failed financial system until a new president can legislate a more permanent and equitable solution.
William Greider
Newman Nation

The Nation bids farewell to one of its greatest friends–actor and activist Paul Newman.
Edward Sorel
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Column

McCain and W.

McCain’s not a perfect replica, but Oliver Stone’s Bush bio-pic reminds us they’re two spoiled screw-ups who divided and conquered the country for their high-rolling pals.
Robert Scheer
Sarah Palin’s Extreme Sports

Polititians routinely manipulate Americans’ fixation with sports. But Sarah Palin plays an extreme–and disingenuous–version of the game.
Dave Zirin
The Dow’s Decline and Fall

The Dow falls below 10,000. As deflation destroys wealth and unemployment rises, America braces for tough times ahead.
Nicholas von Hoffman
Break Wall Street’s Money Monopoly

As the next Congress creates a new regulatory structure for our crippled financial system, job one is breaking Wall Street’s grip on capital and credit.
Nicholas von Hoffman
On a Clear Day, I See Vladivostok

The song of a political visionary–with apologies to Alan Jay Lerner.
Calvin Trillin
Reality Bites

That McCain and Palin actually have a shot at the White House gives one pause contemplating the future of this country.
Eric Alterman

Books & the Arts

Wanted: Political Poetry

Are you worried about the election? Do you write haiku? People for the American Way and The Nation invite your entries the McPalin Haiku Hysteria competition.
Erica Landau
Lee Atwater’s Legacy

Rebel. Liar. Attack dog. Bigot. Stefan Forbes’s Boogie Man assesses the enduring damage Lee Atwater did to our political process.
Antonino D’Ambrosio
McCain and W.

McCain’s not a perfect replica, but Oliver Stone’s Bush bio-pic reminds us they’re two spoiled screw-ups who divided and conquered the country for their high-rolling pals.
Robert Scheer
Krapp’s Last Horse

With his new play Kicking a Dead Horse, Sam Shepard is still stranded in a prairie of tough-guy cliché.
Akiva Gottlieb
Back Talk: Kenneth Miller

Cell biologist Kenneth Miller discusses the dangers of politicized science.
Christine Smallwood
Looking Backward

As America’s second Gilded Age fissions around us, we can sense the zeitgeist shift. Are we staring into the abyss of 1929 or heading for a new New Deal?
Steve Fraser
From Gorbachev to Putin

Five authors provide differing views of the post-glasnost era and of the failed promise of democratic reform in Russia.
Robert V. Daniels
No Exit: Laurence Tribe and ‘The Invisible Constitution’

Laurence Tribe’s new book asks us to consider the “invisible” web of ideas that have grown around the text of the Constitution. But who’s to say what it contains?
Daniel Lazare
New England

Lisa Jarnot
The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

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Letters

Letters

Mouths Water. Earth Smiles.
Orient, N.Y.
Eric Alterman , Our Readers and Bernard Avishai

Crossword

Crossword Classic #20

From the February 28, 1948, issue.
Frank W. Lewis
Puzzle No. 3140

ACROSS

1 Change the action, if you want to get into an argument. (11)

9 See 6 down
Frank W. Lewis

Log In

October 20, 2008 Issue

Feature

This can be a transformative election. Will economic meltdown, race or regional loyalty be the trump card?

Are you worried about the election? Do you write haiku? People for the American Way and The Nation invite your entries the McPalin Haiku Hysteria competition.

Rebel. Liar. Attack dog. Bigot. Stefan Forbes’s Boogie Man assesses the enduring damage Lee Atwater did to our political process.

As financial markets reel from the US financial crisis and tainted Chinese dairy products are sold around the world, we’re learning hard lessons on the limits of globalization.

With a surge of angry e-mail that sent Congressional servers into meltdown, taxpayers stormed their way into the bailout debate.

China is booming, but slouches toward the moral authority needed to inspire a modern, open and prosperous state. Does Confucius hold the key?

GOP loyalists have taken over the Justice Department and retooled the civil rights division as a political weapon.

He may talk tough about Russia, but John McCain’s political advisers have advanced Putin’s imperial ambitions.

Editorial

Thinking of casting a symbolic vote for Nader or some other third-party progressive? Think again.

Seven years after the US invasion, Afghanistan is still chained to the fundamentalist warlords and the Taliban. Women and children suffer the most.

If only the federal government could be mobilized to solve the nation’s healthcare crisis as quickly as it did for Wall Street.

There’s only one explanation for the pundits who declared Sarah Palin finessed Thursday’s debate: A nation of losers sorely needed a redemption narrative.

Remember The Rules, that mean-girl guide to being the object of male desire? That’s Sarah Palin. Not that it will do the GOP much good.

He was funny, he was thoughtful, he was committed and, in the end, he was a friend, period.

As America’s second Gilded Age fissions around us, we can sense the zeitgeist shift. Are we staring into the abyss of 1929 or heading for a new New Deal?

Nothing brings left and right together like a Big Government intervention on behalf of Big Money.

D.D. Guttenplan on British politics, Nancy Kranich on Banned Books Week

Congress must take control of the failed financial system until a new president can legislate a more permanent and equitable solution.

The Nation bids farewell to one of its greatest friends–actor and activist Paul Newman.

GET UNLIMITED DIGITAL ACCESS FOR LESS THAN $3 A MONTH!

Column

McCain’s not a perfect replica, but Oliver Stone’s Bush bio-pic reminds us they’re two spoiled screw-ups who divided and conquered the country for their high-rolling pals.

Polititians routinely manipulate Americans’ fixation with sports. But Sarah Palin plays an extreme–and disingenuous–version of the game.

The Dow falls below 10,000. As deflation destroys wealth and unemployment rises, America braces for tough times ahead.

As the next Congress creates a new regulatory structure for our crippled financial system, job one is breaking Wall Street’s grip on capital and credit.

The song of a political visionary–with apologies to Alan Jay Lerner.

That McCain and Palin actually have a shot at the White House gives one pause contemplating the future of this country.

Books & the Arts

Are you worried about the election? Do you write haiku? People for the American Way and The Nation invite your entries the McPalin Haiku Hysteria competition.

Rebel. Liar. Attack dog. Bigot. Stefan Forbes’s Boogie Man assesses the enduring damage Lee Atwater did to our political process.

McCain’s not a perfect replica, but Oliver Stone’s Bush bio-pic reminds us they’re two spoiled screw-ups who divided and conquered the country for their high-rolling pals.

With his new play Kicking a Dead Horse, Sam Shepard is still stranded in a prairie of tough-guy cliché.

Cell biologist Kenneth Miller discusses the dangers of politicized science.

As America’s second Gilded Age fissions around us, we can sense the zeitgeist shift. Are we staring into the abyss of 1929 or heading for a new New Deal?

Five authors provide differing views of the post-glasnost era and of the failed promise of democratic reform in Russia.

Laurence Tribe’s new book asks us to consider the “invisible” web of ideas that have grown around the text of the Constitution. But who’s to say what it contains?

The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

Letters

Mouths Water. Earth Smiles. Orient, N.Y.

Crossword

From the February 28, 1948, issue.

ACROSS 1 Change the action, if you want to get into an argument. (11) 9 See 6 down

Mouths Water. Earth Smiles.
Orient, N.Y.

ACROSS

1 Change the action, if you want to get into an argument. (11)

9 See 6 down